


Withering Cherry Blossoms

by Denidene



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cultivators, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, SeireiteiDiscord, burn - Freeform, byaichi, sads, slowburn, soulmate!AU, treekuya
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:48:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25000087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denidene/pseuds/Denidene
Summary: A lone cherry blossom tree in front of the burned down gates of the Kuchiki clan, swaying in the wind, the petals slowly falling to the ground and withering.
Relationships: Kuchiki Byakuya/Kurosaki Ichigo
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21
Collections: The Seireitei Server Birthday Gift Exchange 2020





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RyuuKevin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyuuKevin/gifts).



> Soooo, this is my exchange gift fic for RyuuKevin :D  
> So exctited, but it is not completely finished yet...well, not at all xD  
> It was suppposed to be a one shot  
> <.<  
> >.>  
> Whelp, it is not? :D
> 
> Also, might have read too much GDC since I am kinda obsessed with cultivators and cultivation? Ooops?
> 
> This fic is inspired by the poem 一棵開花的樹 A blossoming Tree by 席慕蓉 Xi Murong~
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The gate of the Kuchiki clan, which once stood proud and tall, was now burnt and completely destroyed. There was nothing left of the once imposing tall and elegant building and gorgeous training grounds that people around the area had seen for centuries.

The place had been recently attacked by monsters and demons, as well as hollows and espadas. After that, the place completely burnt down. How exactly, no one knows. The attack was massive and on a scale no one had ever seen before. It had not been a normal attack at all. They suspected that someone must have orchestrated the whole thing, especially since this was not the only clan that fell in such a short time.

It had not only been the Kuchiki clan, one of the four big clans actually, but the Shihoin clan, also part of the big four, had fallen as well.

The people were whispering about the accident though, wondering how this could have transpired. Two big clans and in such a short time, it was unthinkable.

For centuries, the four big clans had ruled over the lands. The big clan that ruled and was familiar in this area was the Kuchiki clan. The clan was not only in charge of the protection of the common folk, but they were in charge of keeping the history of the country safe as well. 

Additionally they helped the smaller clans out as well by training their most promising disciples in the fine arts of cultivation. They would teach them basic knowledge of monsters, demons, spirits, hollows and espadas, teach them how they could draw talismans, how to use kido and hado and how to use their swords and reiatsu.

Whenever a matter came up which could not be fixed by the smaller clans, the cultivators of the Kuchiki clan would help out. And if they could not, the Shihoin clan would. They were the one closest to the Kuchiki clan, even though the clans were miles apart still.

However, now the two nearest clans had fallen, the common folk was afraid of what was to come.

The cultivators of the smaller clans were trying their best to protect everyone. However, they were no match for the monsters that turned up.

The people could actually still hear the horrifying screams and smell the lingering scent of blood if the wind blew into a certain direction. The place was haunted as well. At night, spirits could be seen roaming around crying and screaming.

It scared them since they had no explanation for this. Even the cultivators did not have an explanation. This only fuelled all the rumours that were going around. However, it was indeed best to avoid the place. 

People who had been brave enough to explore the place in broad daylight anyway, trying to discover what had actually happened, felt the resentful energy of everything that had transpired. They left shortly after they arrived, feeling sick to their core and having no explanation for it.

  
People who watched the place from a distance saw a lone cherry blossom tree in front of the gates. The tree should have been burnt to the ground as well since every other cherry blossom tree that had been around the grounds were burnt down as well. It was a miracle that this tree had survived.

They watched how the tree swayed in the wind, the petals slowly falling. 

The thing that amazed them the most was the fact that it was not even the season for the tree to carry flowers. 

The people could feel the pain of the tree. It was as if the tree was crying, only letting one flower fall at a time. 

The story about how the tree came to be had been making its rounds. From one of the Kuchiki’s being cursed because they had been losing approval of the heaven to rule which subsequently led them to their horrifying downfall to the sealing of one of the demons they fought into a cherry blossom tree.

The most popular one, to everyone’s surprise however, was that of a soulmate. 

Because of cultivation, people who cultivated were able to get a soulmate mark. It ended in tragedy most of the time because of the nature of the soulmate mark.

The soulmate connection would appear for one as the first sentence their soulmate would ever say to them, tattooed on their skin. The other person would get the last words their soulmate would ever say to them tattooed on their skin.

The people believed that the tree was able to survive because of that soulmate connection. Their love for their soulmate kept them alive and was the reason why they were so sad as well.

Well, things couldn’t be further from the truth...


	2. Chance upon each other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 如何讓你遇見我,  
> 在這最美麗的時刻?
> 
> How could we chance upon each other,  
> at my most beautiful moment?

**15 years earlier...**

The usually quiet training grounds of the Kuchiki compound were filled with people who were practicing sword forms or sparring with each other. Sounds of wooden swords clashing against each other were echoing all around the courtyard. 

Cherry blossoms were in full bloom, indicating that it was the time of the year in which new disciples would join the Kuchiki clan in order to become a cultivator. 

Young male disciples were sparring in pairs. The obvious difference in sword technique would quickly reveal who were new and who had been staying with the Kuchiki’s for a longer time. That and the amount of noise they made while training.

The stay of a disciple usually varied from three years to five years, depending on how good they were. If disciples showed enough potential, they would be staying up to five years. However, three years would be enough to get anyone to a decent level of cultivation. They would have the basis to continue to improve themselves.

The only requirement for joining is having a decent amount of reiatsu and training prior. They could not teach everyone from scratch. The clan invited the disciples that showed the most potential from the smaller clans to train with them.

All the disciples on the training field were young men. The women who trained under the Kuchiki clan were only taught the knowledge, the fine art of arrays and talismans and the healing arts. It would be enough to pass information to their children. Arrays and talismans were good to protect themselves and their homes when needed.

Every big clan specialised in something else. The Kuchiki clan happened to be specialised in their knowledge since they were well known for protecting the history records. They had the biggest library because of that. 

If anyone needed records on monsters or demons, they would come to the Kuchiki clan. There were all kinds of monsters, demons and spirits in the country. Different classifications and warnings surrounding them. Hollows and espadas were actually quite rare, but they did exist.

The Kuchiki clan gave the best lessons on history and just knowledge on all kinds of subjects really. They were also quite specialised in the drawing of arrays and talismans. Of course, the standard sword techniques and kido and hado were also taught.

Every clan had their own ideas on how they should exterminate monsters, demons, spirits, hollows and even espadas. The Kuchiki clan still preferred swords and kido, but also talismans and arrays to help them trap them so they could be exterminated more easily.   
  


The disciples were training while the sun was high in the sky, causing sweat to drip down their faces while they struggled in their practice. 

Only one young male who was sparring against an elder, did not break any sweat at all. His raven black hair was tied into a ponytail, his slate grey eyes were narrowed, focused on his uncle who he was sparring with.

His uncle came at him and their wooden swords clashed. Their swords locked and they both stood their ground, pushing against each other. His uncle looked proudly at Kuchiki Byakuya, his nephew and the next head. The stance of his nephew was elegant and poised, his eyes focused and movements precise.

He could tell that his nephew was listening to the new disciples during their spar as well. He could feel his reiatsu reaching out and just keeping track of their movements. 

He was proud of his nephew in ways that he could not explain. How he wished that his brother was still here to see his son.

He then shook the thought off, there was no point in dwelling there.

He turned his attention briefly to the new disciples. Most of them had their work cut out for them. He could tell that the new disciples were actually annoying Byakuya. His nephew was still young, but he was going to join the new disciples this year. 

Byakuya had been training to become a cultivator for a while now. He had allowed his nephew to start early on since he was showing a lot of potential. The results were better than he could have expected. He had exceeded all of his peers and was far more knowledgeable as well. 

The only downside is that Byakuya spends a lot of time on his studies. In his opinion, his nephew needed friends.

Byakuya had a different opinion on that, but because his uncle asked him to join this year, he would respect the wishes of his elders and join this year. 

The new disciples had not been with them for even a day and Byakuya could tell they would need a lot of work before they would have a steady amount of reiatsu ready to support their attacks. He was not looking forward to those lessons.

Only one person, and his brow furrowed just at the thought of this person, had reiatsu that spiked all over the place. The fool just did not realise that he was doing it. People who were a bit more trained, that would be everyone except for the new group, were able to pick up on this fact.

It was surprising since he had heard a lot about him. The orange-headed boy, Kurosaki Ichigo. He was strong willed and had battled hollows and monsters before. It was just surprising that he would be the one person who could not control their reiatsu.

And he felt his eyes twitch when he heard how loud they were when clashing their wooden swords. The yells and grunts were absolutely unnecessary. 

His uncle secretly smiled at this, thoroughly amused because he could read his nephew like an open book. He was so annoyed and tried to not let it get to him. Yes, that Kurosaki was something else alright.

He refocused on his uncle when he felt him push back against him. His uncle pushed him back and gave him a hum of approval before lowering his wooden sword. “Good job.” 

Byakuya lowered his sword as well and they both sheathed their swords at the same time. They then proceeded to face each other and bowed at each other. “Thank you uncle,” Byakuya said gratefully. He knew his uncle made time in his busy schedule for him, just to train him personally. 

His uncle gave his nephew a nod of acknowledgement before turning around and making his way to wherever he needed to be.

Byakuya watched his uncle walk away, all elegance and grace. Meanwhile he still felt the reiatsu of that Kuroaski spiking all over the place. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the annoyance he felt bubbling up. He walked towards one of the cherry blossom trees on their training grounds to fetch his bamboo water container.

He took a swig while he watched the other disciples train for a short moment. He looked around and realised that some of the fourth and fifth years were still having sloppy postures.

He closed his eyes and took another deep breath while making a mental note to tell their instructor at least. He saw some of the seniors who he really wanted to spar with. They were amazing in all fields. He would have to work hard in order to win a spar with them.

He would be the youngest to attend the lessons this year. He knew rumours would emerge once they realised that he would join the new disciples. He was the pride of his uncle at this point, but in the eyes of many just the nephew of his uncle. Just a favourite.

It was unfair, but it was what it was. They would just have to get over it.

Byakuya saw how the end of the training period neared. The posture of most disciples and the swords strikes became sloppier with each passing moment.

His eyes involuntarily drifted over to Kurosaki. He had not interacted with any of the new disciples yet, but he knew that Kurosaki was someone who he should be keeping an eye on. He was loud, brash and unrespectful. He had already started to fight one of the disciples that was a year above him. Abarai and Kurosaki were a handful once they started to fight.

However, seeing how their personalities were somehow similar, he knew they would fight often.

He felt the need to shake his head when he realised that it had just been only day one, but refrained from doing so. They would have long years ahead of them.

He saw how Kurosaki lifted his gaze and met his head on suddenly. Brown eyes and slate grey locked for a short moment. He saw how the orange-head grinned at him and how he contained the urge to wave. He narrowed his grey eyes for a split second, saw how the grin fell from his face before he turned around to freshen himself up in his room.

They would start the opening ceremony later this afternoon. He did not look forward to it, but had to go through it anyway since he would be introduced as a ‘new’ disciple as well.

After the ceremony, they would have a small feast in order to celebrate the new academic year. It was also a good moment for people to mingle and to get to know each other. He was absolutely not looking forward to that.

He could not wait for their regular schedules to start. He simply wanted to start training and attend lessons. He wanted to become better, more deserving of the Kuchiki name.

**»»————- ————-««**

After the sparring session, Ichigo felt even more alive than he thought he could ever be. He finally had opponents that were on his level. Not that the people who were a part of his small clan were bad, or the people who were part of the clans they worked together with, but he just easily defeated them. Way too easily. It was no fun sparring with them.

Here, he could go full out and still get defeated. He had room to improve. He could get stronger, finally. He just wanted to get stronger, so he would be able to protect his family even better.

The incident in which his little sister Karin had been in, it had abruptly pulled him from his childhood. He had realised that the world was a scary place and since that moment, he started to train to become better, to protect. 

He could never forget how Karin had almost been killed by a hollow, which he later on discovered was actually quite a rare occurrence.

However, the fact that he had almost lost his little sister had shook him to his core. His father had just been on time and even was wounded himself. It was when he saw how his father was so easily hurt, that he had promised himself that he would do whatever it took to become stronger.

He refocused on the people on the field who were sparring and training and honestly, there were many disciples he wanted to spar with.

He had accidentally picked a fight when he just got here with a red haired baboon. And he had no regrets, even though he already had a punishment now as well. He had to copy texts after the first lessons. He had shaken his head at that. Of course that would be the punishment this clan had decided on. He was not looking forward to it though.

He looked around the field, trying to gauge who he could pick a fight with next when his eyes landed on an elder.

He was puzzled at that. What was an elder doing here?

He had noticed that one person was actually sparring with said elder. He wondered who that guy was, to be able and allowed to spar with an elder and not with peers. He must be strong. 

He was surprised when he could feel his gaze on him. He looked up and grinned, eyes locking with him. He wanted to wave, but somehow was able to refrain himself from waving. That guy did not seem to be someone who liked waving. Actually, he seemed like a stuck up kind of person now that he thought of it.

And as if the guy could read his mind, he saw how he narrowed his eyes. He felt his grin drop from his face and before he knew it the guy had turned around and left the training grounds, oddly determined.

He quickly finished his spar with the person he had been partnered with. They bowed and both left to grab their bamboo waiter container. 

After he fetched his container from the tree he had left it at, he simply stood there leaning against the tree, taking in the big training grounds. Disciples were training everywhere. He could not wait for the upcoming few years, even though he already missed his friends and his family. He hoped they were safe.

Soon after, the training ended and they had to return to their respective rooms to freshen up for the welcoming ceremony.

When he left his room for the ceremony, he saw two people he had met during his training emerging from a few rooms from his own. “Yo Ikkaku, Yumichika!”

They both greeted him in return. “Ichigo!”

  
  


They then started to walk towards the dining hall together. Well, to be more accurate, Ichigo was walking behind them since they were bickering with each other about who took longer to prepare and why they were this late.

He shook his head at that. They were a year above him, but were eager to spar with him. He would not mind sparring with them again in the future and apparently their rooms were close to each other as well.

When he walked into the big hall, he was surprised at how elegant the entire interior was. It was nothing like their dining hall. Of course, the hall was like ten times bigger than theirs already, if not more. The Kuchiki clan needed it since they housed so many disciples. 

However, their dining hall did not feel like home at all. It was just a room that emitted coldness, somehow.

He shook his head and saw that Yumichika and Ikkaku were both making their way to the tables situated in the middle of the room.

There were large square tables which allowed several people to sit together. There were twenty rows and in the front was a platform set up with a table on it for the Kuchiki elders.

Ichigo was about to follow the two when they turned around. Yumichika looked at him, quite amused while he flipped his hair. Ikkaku was probably judging him.

Ichigo felt his scowl reappear. “What?”

Yumichika laughed while Ikkaku just shook his head while pointing to the front. “You are new, you have to sit with the newbies.”

Ichigo had to refrain from hitting him since he knew it was true. Besides, it would not do to fight them right now. He would totally beat them up tomorrow for this though.

He took a glance at the front rows and saw that basically all the new disciples were there. He was surprised when he actually saw the guy who had been sparring with the elder sitting there as well. 

He looked at Ikkaku and Yumichika who were still standing there. Disciples were actually still trickling in and walking around them since they were practically blocking the path. 

“Ah, I see, thanks. See you guys around.” Ichigo saw how the both of them nodded at that. He then turned around and made his way to the front. He somehow found himself seated next to Sado. He had seen him around since he lived near him.

“Ichigo.” He heard him say in his deep and calm voice. For a moment he saw all the familiar places from their hometown flash before him. It was good to have someone familiar with him.

“Sado.” He returned while he sat down next to him.

Before they could say anything, a man in the front called their attention. After a closer look, Ichigo realised that it was the elder who had been sparring earlier. Their gazes seem to meet for a split second, and Ichigo could have sworn that the old man was amused by something.

“Welcome everyone! Let us begin!” He called out softly and Ichigo was surprised to hear all the noise around him cease immediately. 

The opening speech was very short, which surprised Ichigo a bit. Simply stating a few rules and some basic information. However, after the short speech, the smaller clans would be called out. They had to go up to him, introduce themselves and give the respective gifts that had been prepared by the clans.

The clans walked up to the front when called and bowed, introducing themselves while presenting the gifts the clans had decided to give to the Kuchiki clan. The gifts varied from books on different subjects, paintings, art pieces and even delicacies from their area.

Suddenly, he felt nervous about their own gift. They had decided to give the Kuchiki clan another koi their koi pond. The koi was still alive and healthy for as far as he could see. He had no idea how the gift would be received though.

He could feel himself sweat when he realised that most of the new disciples had been called to the front already. 

He was surprised when he suddenly heard the old man call out, “Kuchiki clan.”

He was completely flabbergasted when he realised it was that guy who had been sparring with the elder seated there. They were related, he realised then. No wonder the guy had been so good.

He saw how he gracefully walked to the front and bowed to his elder. He then grabbed something from his sleeve and presented it. Ichigo saw how surprised his elder looked. The small smile afterwards was full of affection though. 

He saw how he quietly whispered something to Byakuya before loudly saying, “Thank you for this wonderful artwork my nephew.”

It had been completely quiet, but at those words murmurs broke out under the new disciples. “What?” “A Kuchiki?” “Wow.” Were things that Ichigo caught when he was staring at Byakuya.

His face did not betray any emotion at all and Ichigo could not help but wonder what was going through his mind right now.

Soon enough however, Byakuya returned to his seat. The chatter had not died down yet, but Ichigo heard his name being called then.

Suddenly he was nervous again. He stood up quite clumsily and made his way to the front, painfully aware of the gazes that were focused on him. He bowed and held out the beautifully decorated container.

He saw through his lashes the old man looking at the container curiously before slowly opening the lid. When he heard the old man gasp, he looked up and was afraid that he had somehow made a mistake. He had never been a fan of following the etiquette. His mother and father had deemed him a hopeless case.

When he saw the awe and wonder on the man’s face, he held his breath. “Thank you Kurosaki Ichigo.”

The Kurosaki clan had decided to give the Kuchiki clan a black and white kumonryu. The black and white were swirling in an elegant and beautiful pattern. 

Ichigo felt a huge weight being lifted off his shoulder. He smiled and bowed, “You are welcome old man.” He then walked back to his seat again, not realising the sudden silence that had descended upon the hall. When he sat down again, he felt himself relax finally. He did not see the amused glance the head of the clan shot his nephew.

Soon, the ceremony was over. He glanced over all the new disciples who were in the same boat as he was and suddenly realised …. he had not remembered any name of their batch other than Kuchiki Byakuya’s. He already knew Sado, so he did not really count.

He shrugged it off. Oh well, he still had time to get to know everyone anyway.

After the ceremony, they had a small feast. People mingled and were enjoying the small feast that consisted of delicacies and all kinds of dishes that were more common in their area. Everyone was enjoying it. 

Ichigo could hear a few people, new disciples, complain about the lack of sake. He shook his head, even though he would like to drink, he knew that drinking on such an occasion would be totally against etiquette.

He glanced over at the Kuchiki’s who were seated in the front. They were all eating quietly, not talking at all and simply watching them. It seemed to be a boring place to be honestly. 

However, it was no surprise that they would be holding tightly onto etiquettes themselves. They were a noble clan after all. 

Ichigo felt bored, everyone was still too shy to really speak up. And without sake they would simply be quiet and modest anyway. He let the people who dared to talk talk, but it was more awkward silence than talk anyway. 

People were talking about their homes and their countries, how their customs differed and also about the dishes and how gorgeous the cherry blossom trees in this part of the country were. Ichigo simply listened and did not want to participate. 

Instead he simply listened and watched how people talked. He let his eyes roam and realised that most of the upper years had already left. His eyes then settled on the window that looked out at the training courtyard. The moon cast an almost magical glow on all the cherry blossoms that were carried away by the wind. 

He wondered if he should too when he saw someone move in a corner, almost hidden away. His eyes landed on a lone figure and he was surprised by who it was. Byakuya.

Before he could get up, he saw a red haired baboon approach Byakuya. He tried to talk to him, however Byakuya only replied by nodding or shaking his head, not saying much at all actually. Well, he did reply at least.

Soon enough he saw how he left Byakuya all alone again.

He contemplated if he should greet him as well for a moment. He then decided to go anyway, how bad could it be?

So he got up and politely excused himself and made his way over. 

Byakuya was still sitting there and staring out of the window, watching how the sakura trees were swaying and how they were gently casting their petals.

Ichigo approached and he saw when Byakuya seemed to notice his presence, but he did not show that he had noticed him.

Ichigo sat down on the opposite side of the table, facing Byakuya and said to his own embarrassment actually rather loudly, “Yo Byakuya!”

He could feel the gaze of some of the people he just left on him, but he shrugged it off. He stared at the young man before him and waited until he replied. However, a long time passed and Byakuya did not turn to look at him. He felt himself getting annoyed with him.

And then, before he could say anything, Byakuya actually turned and looked at him.

He was actually kind of surprised that Byakuya in the end actually did turn to look at him. However, when he just seemed to stare, Ichigo started to feel offended. He wanted to open his mouth when he saw Byakuya’s eyebrows just inch together a bit. He heard him sight before he said, “I have heard many things about you, Kurosaki.”

He did not elaborate or say anything else actually. Ichigo could feel his worlds stop at that moment. It could not be? It just couldn’t.

Ichigo stared at Byakuya, frozen in his place, wondering if he had heard that right. Did he really hear the words that had been haunting him since his reiatsu became strong enough? Really? This guy?

Before he could think, he had gotten up and left with a hurried, “It is late, good night!”

**»»————- ————-««**

Byakuya had been staring out of the window for the larger part of the ceremony. The group of new disciples was actually not that large. Only a bit more than hundred? The year above them seemed to have around 250 disciples if he was correct.

He watched on as they were being loud and noisy, simply celebrating that they were here and that their studies were going to start. He saw that most of the older years had returned to their rooms by then. 

He could still see the orange from the corner of his eyes and remembered what that brat had actually called his uncle.  _ Old man _ . How dare he be that disrespectful.

His uncle had let him know with his eyes that he had been amused still. But Byakuya really wanted to murder that brat on the spot. He had no idea what kind of gift the Kurosaki clan had decided on, but it did not excuse his behaviour. 

He had not expected Abarai to approach him that evening. And neither had he ever thought Kurosaki would approach him. He refused to look at him first, but when he sat down and his reiatsu started to leak all over the place, he looked at him and said what he had thought before, “I have heard many things about you, Kurosaki.”   
  


He could not have predicted that Kurosaki would have gotten up and ran out with a hurried excuse, reiatsu still leaking all over the place.

Byakuya narrowed his eyes and was surprised when he saw the idiot actually leaving the grounds. That fucking idiot. He had no idea that the gates were the markings of where the protective arrays ended. The arrays protected them from attacks and prevented unwanted presences from being attracted to the high concentration of reiatsu.

He got up and hurried after him. He got outside just in time to see that the boy had hidden himself behind one of the cherry blossom trees. 

That idiot. He had no idea that his reiatsu was leaking all over the place and actually attracting danger. And the idiot seemed not to sense the danger approaching either. 

He hurried over and was just in time to draw his sword, thank the lucky stars that he had to carry his sword with him to formal occasions, to stop the claw that would have otherwise torn the idiot to shreds.

It was just a simple monster which was quickly and efficiently dealt with. Once the monster was taken down, silence stretched around them. 

Byakuya turned to him and glared. He did not say anything, but he could see the fool shrink. He took a deep inaudible breath, and said as calmly as he could, “Let us return.”

Once they were safely back in the gates, he went off to report to his uncle. 

**»»————- ————-««**

Ichigo had trouble sleeping that night. 

He couldn’t help but replay what had happened. Byakuya had saved him. He had made a fool out of himself. And for what exactly. 

He lifted his hand up and looked at his wrist. Small and impeccable handwriting which was Byakuya’s with no doubt then. The exact same words he had said earlier to him, tattooed there ever since his reiatsu level was high enough. 

_ I have heard many things about you, Kurosaki. _

He put the arm over his eyes. He had been really foolish to run out like that.

He had always thought that the sentence was positive. That he had achieved good things and was well known. However, the way he had said it suggested really otherwise. He was not sure what it actually meant at this point. 

He felt frustrated by that. What the fuck did he even mean by that?

He turned around, feeling pent up energy and frustration gathering. Damn that Byakuya, he thought while punching his pillow, trying to get more comfortable. Maybe he could fall asleep soon. 

It was no use though, he was really wide awake. Who would have ever thought that he would find his soulmate here, of all places? And this early in life too. 

Was this the reason Byakuya had been glaring at him? It could not be, it was impossible. He would not be able to know that he had these words tattooed on him. Then why?

He sighed, turned around and groaned in frustration. He froze when he heard his roommate groan. He had already forgotten that he had a roommate.

When his roommate didn’t wake up, he released the breath he had been holding and just sighed. If that guy was really his soulmate, what would he have tattooed on him? What would his last words to him be?

He traced the characters on his wrist. Would they end up tragically? Or did they have a happy end?

His thoughts then strayed back to how Byakuya had saved him. When he turned to glare at him, Ichigo saw the moonlight reflected in his slate grey eyes. He had seen how he efficiently dealt with the monster, sword form perfect, his reiatsu oozing with power and control at the same time.

And in that moment, Ichigo could not help but think, how was it that he had chanced upon him, seemingly at his most beautiful moment. Was there anything that could be more beautiful than what had transpired that night?

Byakuya was his soulmate… he frowned then, reality sinking in.

There were cases in which soulmates did not line up. Byakuya could have someone else as their soulmate. Him having the first words, meant that someone would have the last words he would ever say tattooed on them. 

He shook those thoughts off, preparing to lay awake for the rest of the night. Not that this had not happened to him before either, it would be alright.

He thought of sparring again and his goal to protect his family. And with that thought, he slowly drifted off while the sky started to slowly become lighter again.


End file.
